CORPORATE SUFI: The one thing you must do to live your purpose!

Serena Williams of the US reacts to winning a set against Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands during their 2015 US Open Women’s singles round 2 match at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York on September 2, 2015. PHOTO|FILE

“You have a duty to perform. Do anything else, do a number of things, occupy your time fully, and yet, if you do not do this task, all your time will have been wasted.” -- Rumi.

Rumi implies that when we were born, we chose a particular purpose for our life. In turn, we were blessed with a unique gift — the ability to accomplish that mission.

This purpose is entrenched in our core. However, when we entered the world, we were attracted to the “toys” of life. They dazzled and tempted us, and we gradually became lost in their illusion. We became comfortable with worldly temptations and forgot our mission and promise.

We spend our days and nights working hard to accomplish a million and one things, but we have to remember that, if we do not perform the purpose we were born to carry out, our mission is incomplete.

If we perform this one task, we have done all; but if we fail in this, we have missed all.

Finding our purpose and connecting with our soul enables us to realize our potential.

Maybe it’s running your own business or writing a book or being a professional athlete; if we perform this one task, we have done all; but if we fail in this, we have missed all.

How do we find our promise and calling? The Sufis affirm that there are many paths to the same truth.

While there is not one particular way for each seeker to fulfil his purpose in life, connecting with the spirit is essential to finding purpose. One way of doing this is through slowing down and spending time in reflection, contemplation, and meditation.

Another way of finding your calling is to imagine you are on your deathbed today and to ask yourself what your regret would be. This will tell you what, in the final analysis, is really important to you.

If you are finding that there is something amiss in your motivation, drive, or happiness, then it is time for more reflection and a more directed search for your inner self — a search for the one thing that you need to do.

The Sufis say that there is a difference between spending a night with a lover and a night with a toothache. Spending time without purpose is like spending time with a toothache, whereas spending time with purpose is like spending time with a lover.

When you work without purpose, you are aimlessly going through life, and you experience pain and frustration. When you are working with purpose, you are passionate and excited.

It takes time to find your calling, but this work is important. Some describe it as being as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. The route to your calling is embedded deep inside each one of you. It is work you have to do on your own as we are all unique and come with our own individual strengths.

When you know the one thing you must do while you are here in this physical world, you have found your purpose.

“Listening to your heart and finding out who you are, is not simple. It takes time for the chatter to quiet down.

In the silence of “not doing” we begin to know what we feel. If we listen and hear what is being offered, then anything in life can be our guide.”

Extract from “Life Balance the Sufi Way” -- in blog.corporatesufi.com